Hidden Treasure: A Christmas Tale
by dejaceratops
Summary: When Marron gets a mysterious call from Goten at work, she panics, thinking something is wrong. What's going on with Goten, and what isn't he telling Marron?


**Hidden Treasures: A Christmas Story****  
**

**A/N: **I don't own Goten...or Marron...or Bulma or Trunks or ChiChi or Dragonball or Dragonball Z...

Goten sat slouched on the sofa, his legs spread and hands in his lap. His eyes stared into the distance as he concentrated on the task ahead of him.

_If this doesn't work,_ he thought to himself but stopped before he could finish. This was going to work. It _had_ to.

He dragged a hand through his thick black hair and pushed himself off the couch, heading to the phone in the kitchen.

"And so it begins," he sighed before lifting the receiver to his ear and raising a hand to dial the number he knew so very well.

Marron sighed heavily and pulled her hands through her hair, the golden waves shifting like silk through her fingers. Her eyes scanned the papers on the desk in front of her, the numbers swimming before her as though they were spinning around on the page. She tore her eyes away from the page and looked out the window next to her cubicle. She watched the snow falling lightly with a wishful stare. If only she hadn't taken that day off three months ago, Bulma wouldn't have made her work on Christmas Eve. Her lips curled into a wistful little smile as she thought. Then again, she was glad she had taken that day off months ago. If she hadn't, she and Goten wouldn't have made such a huge leap in their relationship from friends to something so much more.

Marron was still staring out the window, her thoughts on her very first Christmas with Goten, when Bulma walked up to her cubicle and peeked over the top.

"You might wanna come back down to Earth, sweetheart. There's a call for you on line three."

"Oh!" Marron squeaked. "Of course! I'm sorry." A faint blush painted Marron's cheeks a light pink, and Bulma laughed heartily.

"It's quite all right, Maz, just answer the phone, okay?"

"Um, sure," Marron said, unsure as to who could be calling her or why. _It could be Goten,_ she thought, _but he should be working. Why would he be calling me?_ Timidly, Marron picked up the phone on her desk and pressed the button to pick up line three, the small green light flashing.

"H-hello? Marron Chestnut speaking."

"Mazy," a frantic voice answered, "Mazy, is that you?" Marron was deeply puzzled, a deep frown creasing her forehead.

"Goten? What's wrong?" She could hear panic in Goten's voice, and she was beginning to panic herself. Goten was not an easy person to worry, so hearing him this concerned was really scaring Marron.

"Mazy, I need you to come home right now. It's important. You have to get here."

"Goten, slow down. You're scaring me. Are you all right?"

"Mazy, just get here." And with that, Goten hung up the phone and all Marron heard was the dial tone.

"Dende, please let him be okay," she prayed aloud, standing and pulling on the coat she had slung over the back of her chair. As she went to zip up, the picture next to her phone grabbed her attention. It was her very favorite picture. She and Goten were on the beach at Kame Island lying on their backs next to each other, both of them staring lovingly into the other's eyes. Their fingers were locked together, his thumb lightly caressing hers. Her stomach tightened as she the thought occurred to her that he might be hurt. She quickly turned away from the picture and jotted a note to Bulma explaining her need to leave and left it on her desk. She headed towards the elevators, hurrying as fast as she could without startling anyone working around her. Once she got to the elevators, she impatiently pushed the down arrow to summon one of the elevators and jammed her thumb. She cursed silently to herself as the elevator doors opened and she stepped inside.

The surrounding apartment was dark. There were no lights on, no drapes open, not even candles were lit within the spacious condo. Goten looked around nervously, not really being able to see much. He gave an anxious sigh, the tension in his body driving him crazy.

"Come on, Maz…get here."

As soon as Marron had gotten off the elevator, she had rushed like a mad woman to her car and sped down the highway, almost running an old lady off the road. As she approached the door to the apartment that she and Goten shared and felt a cold unease fall over her body. She couldn't hear any noise coming from inside, and the light that usually shone underneath the crack in the door was not there. Marron took a troubled breath and pushed her key into the lock, turning it and opening the door.

"Goten?" She called out worriedly, her mind on edge. What was going on? It was completely dark in the apartment; she couldn't see a thing. Marron tried to let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the room, but it was just too dark. Carefully, she walked over to where she knew the lamp to the living room to be, easily dodging the sofa and coffee table. She turned on the lamp, and light filled the cavernous living room. It was a huge space for an apartment, but then, the two lovers didn't live in just any apartment. She looked around frantically, trying to find any sign of the man she loved, but she could see none. She quickly dropped her briefcase and keys and rushed towards the bedroom. "Goten, are you in here?" She stepped cautiously up the stairs to the loft part of the apartment where their bedroom was. All was dark on the stairs as well, and she was worried that maybe she would fall and wouldn't be able to help Goten. Her heart raced inside her chest. She didn't know what she would do if something had happened to him. The fact that she could find no sign of him and that he wasn't answering her calls was not making her feel any better. She reached the top of the stairs and onto the landing in front of the two double doors that led to her bedroom. She walked around the upper floor, turning on lamps and calling out for her missing boyfriend, but still, she could not find him. _What the hell is going on here? _she kept asking herself. It was strange that she couldn't find even the smallest hint of Goten. It was as if the man had never even been in the apartment, yet she had kissed him right on this very landing before she left for work that day.

She slid the doors to the bedroom open and stepped inside. Reaching out to her left, she flicked on the light switch and flooded the enormous room in front of her with light. She reached into the pocket of her suit jacket to grab a hair scrunchie to tie her hair up, she didn't need her hair to be distracting her, but she stopped when she actually looked at what was inside the room. She stared around amazedly as she slid the bedroom doors automatically slid shut behind her.

Goten dashed around the apartment, listening carefully for any signs of Marron coming out of the bedroom. Things had gone as planned so far, but there was still so much more that could go wrong if he didn't work this _just_ right. He looked around at his work and smiled.

"Damn, I'm good," he whispered to himself and patted himself on the back. He gave one last satisfied look around and hid himself again, waiting for Marron.

Marron let out a relieved laugh as she stared at her bed. Rose petals covered the white down quilt and dusted the fluffy carpet beneath her feet. Hearts made of roses lying end-to-end littered the floor like a footpath made just for her. On the bed was a small card with her name written on the envelope. She shook her head and smiled as she walked over to the bed and picked up the card. When she opened the envelope, she pulled out a little Hallmark card. On the front was a beautiful drawing, one she knew at once to be Goten's, of their bedroom as it was now with her standing in the middle of the room. She smiled at the accuracy of the image and opened the card. The words she saw inside the card were written in Goten's fat, rounded scrawl:

_Mazy,_

_I know I had you worried and I'm sorry, but you can relax now because everything is okay (meaning take your hair out of the ponytail if you had a chance to put it up). You can't be comfortable in that business suit, so I suggest (very, very, **very** strongly suggest) that you take it **off** (haha) and put on something a little more comfortable._

_Love, Goten_

Marron laughed as she read Goten's card, not surprised that he knew here well enough to know that she had intended to put her hair up. She shook her head at Goten's remark about taking her clothes off as she closed the card and set it down on the bed. He was very right in assuming that she wasn't comfortable. Her short dress skirt didn't cover much of her body, and she was cold from the wind and snow outside. Her feet were hurting because of her brand new, unbroken-in heels, and she was dying to get out of them. She stripped off her clothes, careful not to drop them on the floor and ruin the hearts Goten had arranged on the floor. She followed the short footpath to her dresser and opened the third drawer down to pull out a comfy, long sleeved shirt. It was her favorite shirt to wear, a white Titans baseball shirt that Yamucha had given to her with the dates of their games written in blue on the back with their wins bolded. Of course, since the team had won the championship earlier that year, all of the dates were bolded; the team had an undefeated season. She slipped the shirt over her head and crouched down to pull out the drawer underneath it. She was surprised to see another small card lying on top of the dark blue sweat pants she had intended to put on. She raised an eyebrow curiously. _What in the world is he up to? _she thought, standing up and pulling on the sweats before opening the card. This time, the front of the card bore an image of the kitchen, a bottle of wine and two wine glasses sitting on the counter with bows tied on the stems. Inside was another, shorter note from Goten:

_I'm sure you didn't eat lunch today. Why don't you head down to the kitchen and find yourself something to eat?_

_G_

This card had been signed only with an elegant 'G'. She couldn't figure out what was going on; all she knew was that Goten wanted her to go to the kitchen, so that's where she would go. She slipped on her warmest pair of socks and dropped the card on the side table by the door. When she opened the doors, she was amazed to see yet another footpath laid out for her leading down the stairs and around the corner, ostensibly to the kitchen. She looked around to see if she could see Goten anywhere, but to no avail. With a tiny shrug, she followed the footpath to the kitchen where, just like on the card, a bottle of wine and two glasses were sitting on the kitchen. Unlike on the card, however, there was a third envelope against the cups, her name scribbled on the back. She filled up both glasses of wine but drank only a sip of the first, leaning her back against the counter as she opened the next card. On it was a view of the apartments across the street. This puzzled her. He wanted her to go the other apartments? She stared at the front of the card until a thought hit her. He wanted her to go to the balcony where she could see the other apartment buildings from her post. She chuckled under her breath at her slowness and opened the card. She smiled widely as she read the note on the inside:

_Wine and coffee, Mazy? Strange mix._

_G_

Marron put her glass down and left the card on the counter, heading to the sliding glass door in the living room that led to the balcony and, she was sure, her next card. She forgot all about getting herself something to eat as followed her little footpath to the door where she pulled aside the drapes, sliding the glass panes and stepping onto the balcony and into the cold air. On the small white table on the balcony was a steaming mug of coffee, her favorite after work drink. She sat down on a chair by the table and lifted her coffee mug, staring out at the view of the apartments across the street that Goten had replicated perfectly on the last card. As she raised the coffee mug to her lips, something caught her attention. Another white envelope was stuck to the bottom of the cup. She shook her head and pulled it off, sitting the mug back on the table. She was surprised to open the envelope and see a plain wooden door drawn on the front of the card. She thought of the layout of their apartment and her mind finally came to the only door like that one in the entire house. The living room closet.

_Mazy, it's snowing outside. Where's your damn coat?_

_G_

Marron found herself leaping out of her chair to find the next card, her mind not even registering that another part of her path had been added to the already existing one, leading her directly to the hallway closet. She was shivering slightly as she reached the closet door. A small frown wrinkled her brow when she got there. She found nothing at all was there. No coat. No card. Nothing. She frowned even harder at this. She knew she couldn't have gone the wrong way. This was the only door like the one on the card that they had in the entire apartment; this _had_ to be right. She walked back to the balcony and stepped outside again, planning on reading the message again to be sure she hadn't gotten it wrong. What she saw, however, surprised her.

Goten stood shivering at how cold it was outside. He didn't know how she could stand going to work in those short little business skirts in such cold weather, but he admired her for doing it. The corners of his lips turned up in a tiny smirk as he thought about his plan. She had done exactly what he knew she would do. He prayed to Dende that she would continue to follow his script, knowing that things would be ruined if she didn't do exactly what he needed her to do.

Marron stood agape at the sight of the little balcony now. Her cup of coffee had been removed and the card had been removed as well. On the table instead was yet another card. She hurried to the table and snatched up the card, tearing the envelope open and almost tearing the card inside. She looked at the front of the card and smirked at the drawing of their quaint little kitchen. She opened the card and couldn't keep herself from laughing when she read it:

_Oops! My fault. I think you're supposed to be heading to the kitchen. You should (really, **really** should) go get yourself something to eat now._

_G_

Marron ran into the house, not worrying about closing the drapes over the balcony door, but paused when she saw the footpath of hearts continuing from in front of the balcony door. _He has to be watching me from somewhere,_ she thought. _That's the only way this path could keep forming while I'm not looking._ Marron followed the path to the kitchen and laughed wholeheartedly. On the counter where once were two full wine glasses and a bottle was now one full wine glass, one empty one, and no bottle to speak of. Resting on the top of the empty wine glass was another card. This time when she opened the card she didn't see a room or any other part of their house. Instead, there was a gift box, wrapped in wrapping paper with a big bow on the top. On the inside was the shortest note of all of them:

_Find it._

Goten sat the small box down and stared at it. This was it, the moment of truth. Everything depended on that box. He ran his hands through his hair and locked them behind his neck, sending Dende a panicked prayer before hiding himself for the final time.

He hadn't even signed the card this time, but Marron didn't care. She ran back out into the living room and searched. She lifted sofa cushions and looked under the armoire that held the entertainment system, but she couldn't find it. She looked out on the balcony, and it wasn't there. She searched the closet, the kitchen, and the bathroom, and she still could find no sign of her present. She checked the entire first floor of the apartment, even the guest room, and she couldn't find that damn present. She sat down on the couch in the living room and thought hard about where her present could possibly be. She sat and thought for about five minutes before the thought finally hit her. She smacked herself in the forehead, thinking to herself how stupid she was. _It never said my present was on the first floor._ She jumped off of the couch and ran to the stairs, stopping only long enough to lift the bottom of her sweatpants so that she didn't trip while going up the stairs. When she got to her bedroom, she smiled victoriously and threw the doors of the room open. She stopped suddenly when her eyes found the box sitting in the middle of her bed.

Goten watched quietly as Marron paused in the doorway of their bedroom, her eyes trained on the bed and the box that lay on it. All of the rose petals had been cleared away, as had the footpath of roses. The only thing she could possibly be looking at was the box. She looked so beautiful to him, even in her leisure clothes with her back to him. He watched as she walked slowly to the bed and sat down, her hand hesitantly reaching out and picking up the box. He sighed and downed the glass of wine she had left untouched, walking into the kitchen and setting it back on the counter. He walked out of the kitchen and stood once again in the hallway, watching from his spot as she just stared at the box. He knew it was finally time. He just wished he knew what would happen after this moment.

Marron sat stunned as she stared at the small black box in her hands. Her mind and heart were racing. All of his notes had led her to this moment, to this exact spot, and she couldn't wrap her mind around what this could mean. She didn't even hear him step up behind her. She didn't react at first when he reached around her and took the box from her hands. She blinked her eyes and looked down at her now empty hands, sure she hadn't heard him approach or felt him remove the box from her hands, yet he had. She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, not daring to move or even breathe.

"Marron," he whispered softly, the sound of his voice barely reaching her ears but making her spine tingle nonetheless. She turned around on the bed to see him down on one knee in front of her, the box in his hand open and revealing a gorgeous diamond ring. Her breath caught in her chest at the sight of him and the ring. Her eyes clouded with tears as she looked at him, his face so beautiful and serious. She let out a shaky breath and put a hand over her mouth in disbelief._ I don't believe this…_

Goten sat kneeling in front of Marron, her eyes teary and her cheeks red, and felt so at peace. He knew she loved him, and from the look she was giving him, he knew that everything would be okay.

"Marron," he began slowly, waiting until her eyes met his again before continuing. "I've known you my whole life. We grew up together. We went to school together, even when you lived on the island. We've seen death and the end of the world and suffered pain that no one could ever imagine, and we got through it all together." He paused momentarily to catch his breath; seeing her looking so beautiful in front of him was making it hard to breathe. Well, that and his nerves. Slowly, he continued.

"We've always had the best of times together, and we've grown so close over the past two years, but these last couple of months with you have been the most amazing, wonderful, fulfilling time of my life, and I never want what I'm feeling to go away. You've been my little sister, my lover, my companion, and my best friend for all of our lives. And now, Marron," he stopped to wipe a falling tear from her cheek, his thumb caressing the smooth, warm skin of her face. He closed the box with the ring in it and grasped Marron's waist, pulling her to the edge of the bed. He slid his body between her knees and looked deep into her eyes. He opened the box again and raised himself on his knees so that the two of them were at eye level. Her eyes went to the ring in the box before locking onto his, and his courage triple. He knew she'd say yes. There was no way she wouldn't.

"Now, Marron," he began again, "I'm asking you if you would be my wife. Will you marry me?" Marron laughed joyously as threw her arms around Goten's neck and kissed him deeply, pouring all of her love for him into her kiss. Her tears fell gently onto his face as she fell to her knees on the floor with him. She cried even harder when he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger, admiring how beautiful the ring was. She kissed him again, and he laughed, the sound making her shiver. He pulled away and kissed her on the forehead before kissing her lips again.

"Is that a yes, Mazy?" he asked, his lips brushing hers. They both smiled and kissed as Marron threw her arms back around Goten's neck, her tears not stopping.

"You know it is," she answered and laughed as Goten picked her up and spun her around in circles in his joy. He put her back down on her feet and kissed the tip of her nose. His eyes bore into hers, and the love she saw in them made her heart melt.

"I love you, Marron Chestnut."

"Excuse me, that's soon-to-be Mrs. Son to you," Marron answered jokingly. Goten put his hands on her face, his palms cupping hers gently as he stared into her eyes.

"No, Mazy, I need to hear you say it." She kissed him softly, his soft lips brushing hers gently.

"I love you, too, Goten." The two of them held each other in the hallway for what seemed to be hours, trading small kisses and sweet nothings back and forth as their hearts sang with love.

"Merry Christmas, Maz."

"Merry Christmas, Goten."

A knock on the door pulled Marron out of her sleep. She heard Goten laugh as she groaned and rubbed her eyes while he lifted her head from his lap and went to answer the door. When the door opened, she was surprised to see all of her family and friends standing at the front door. _Whaa-?_ she thought to herself before remembering that it was Christmas Eve, and everyone was having dinner at their apartment. She lifted herself off the couch and went to the door, greeting everyone as they stepped inside. Trunks and Bulma were the last to come in. Bulma paused inside the door, looking curiously at Marron.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" said Marron.

"Well, what happened? I saw your note on your desk but you never called to say whether or not everything was okay." Trunks walked up to Marron and gave her a quick hug, landing a small kiss on the top of her head.

"Not to worry, Mom," he said with a grin, "I'm thinking everything is just fine." Marron gasped.

"You told him?" She turned to Goten and playfully smacked him on his bare chest. He laughed at her feigned anger and lifted his hand to the back of his head.

"He's my best friend, Mazy, I _had_ to tell him," he said, his cheeks turning red.

"Tell who what?" asked ChiChi as she stepped out of the kitchen. Everyone was dressed informally for Christmas, ChiChi included. Why dress up around your family? She wiped her hands on her sweatpants and walked up to her youngest son, kissing him on his cheek. Goten smiled and grabbed Marron's hand, lifting it to show everyone the ring.

"Maz and I are engaged, Mom. We're getting married."

"Oh! How wonderful! More grandkids!" ChiChi cried as she fell onto her son, placing little kisses all over his face. Goten just sighed and hugged his mother, knowing that he should have expected she'd be this excited. ChiChi attacked Marron next, hugging her so tightly that Marron couldn't breathe. Marron hugged her back, excited that ChiChi was so happy that she was becoming one of the family. Everyone congratulated the couple, shaking hands and exchanging hugs and kisses and already making plans for the coming wedding. Inside the apartment the air was warm and full of love, and outside, the snow kept on falling.

**Have yourself a  
Merry Little Christmas now…**

EL FIN

**A/N: **So what'd you think? It only took two sittings to write it, so if it's really bad, I'm sorry. I just felt like I should write a cute little Christmas story for the holidays! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and an even better New Year!

3 Deja


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